Cold and Lonely
by Cheklov's Gun
Summary: Abandoned by his so-called friends, Yugi leaves one night and runs into the person he least expects…but might also be the one who can understand. Discontinued, but adopted several times over.
1. The Escape

One: Strange Encounters on Stormy Nights 

It rained.

Yugi stared out his bedroom window at the few final stragglers who were making desperate dashes to shelter. A gold, Egyptian-eye embossed, inverted pyramid sat on the windowsill near one of his hands, glittering dully in the watery streetlamp glow.

His hand twitched and the pyramid clattered loudly to the floor. He turned and bent low to retrieve it, but a bitter expression flitted across his face, and the reaching hand retreated, leaving the puzzle laying on the carpet.

Listening to the gentle murmur of voices and the occasional moments of laughter that punctuated it, the bitter expression returned, and this time it stayed. Recently, it had seemed to him like his so-called "friends" didn't care much about him anymore. They really only wanted to hang out with Yami these days…and Yugi couldn't blame them. Yami was stronger and more skilled and…and just better than his smaller counterpart. And he too was beginning to drift away from the smaller duelist, now that they didn't need to share a body any longer.

It used to hurt. But over time, the pain had dulled and he really no longer cared about it one way or the other. Most of the time, at least. Unfortunately, tonight hadn't been one of those times. He turned to gaze back out the window. The rain didn't seem ready to stop anytime soon.

A particularly loud burst of laughter from downstairs jarred Yugi from his musings and made him jump. Suddenly he felt restricted, confined. He needed out. Now. He rose and started towards the door, but stopped before his hand had quite reached the knob.

'They'll ask me what I'm up too…might even feel guilty and trail along…don't even want them to know I'm leaving…' Gasping, he began to pace frantically, looking surreal in the streetlamp glow dimly lighting the room with its weakened light. Yugi stopped and stared at the thin trickle of light, slowly raising his face as he followed it to it's source.

His eyes fell upon the window.

With a silent cry of joy, he lunged forward and violently flung the glass pane up, leaning out to see if there was any way her could escape the confinement of his bedroom from there. Within seconds of him first opening the window, all his clothing was soaked through, but he could care less, because a wooden trellis was within easy reach of his rather short legs. He tossed a leg over the windowsill and shimmied along until his sneakered feet touched the ladder-like structure.

He easily and swiftly scrambled down and was soon standing on the wet concrete sidewalk. His raised his face to the sky, closed his eyes and spread his arms wide, relishing the sensation of nature raging around him. His thin white shirt clung to his petite, yet well muscled frame as the wind picked up a bit, coaxing a small shiver out of the small teen. He opened his eyes, picked a direction, and began to walk.

Shortly afterwards, the park came into view. Yugi began jogging, and then running, savoring the feel of the wind and rain lashing against his face. He wasn't paying attention to where he was running and went sprawling on the muddy concrete, badly scraping his arms.

With a laugh, he rose and began sprinting around in a vile mockery of play. Tears and rainwater mixed on his cheeks and blood dribbled lightly on his nearly transparent shirt as her danced around wildly, laughing. He tripped on a nearly invisible rock.

He was rapidly descending towards the ground when strong, warm arms wrapped themselves around his slight waist, catching him. Yugi went limp, too tired to care as he was cradled against a warm, yet extremely damp chest and carried towards a tiny covered picnic shelter.

Once inside, he was sat on the table next to a dark green backpack. His head drooped, but he could still see his…rescuer.

He was wearing a soaking, black hooded sweatshirt, muddy blue-jeans and brown work boots. Yugi felt instant guilt at his own stupidity, which had caused this considerate person to get soaked saving Yugi from himself.

"Yugi…what the hell are you doing out alone, at this time of night, in this weather, without even so much as a jacket?" Yugi recoiled slightly as he recognized that deep, slightly harsh voice, but his spine stiffened and he answered impertinently.

"I was bored. What about you? I don't see an escort with YOU." It was exhilarating, teasing someone who was rumored to have no sense of humor and could kill you with a snap of his fingers, no regrets.

Bakura tossed back his hood and glared at Yugi, who stared right back with a slight, almost-mocking smirk. Then, of all the thing he could have done, and neatly disproving at least one rumor, he let out a snort of amused laughter.

"I'm heading home from work."

Yugi nodded, and realized he was shivering. Bakura noticed too, because he opened his backpack and pulled out another sweater, casually tossing it to Yugi, who stared at it blankly. Bakura, watching him, let out an impatient sigh.

"Just put the damn thing on."

Yugi pulled it over his head. It was far, far too big, but it was warm. The smaller boy turned to the ex-spirit with a mildly puzzled expression, but the other had already turned away and was taking his own sweatshirt off.

Bakura squeezed the piece of clothing, wringing a ridiculously large amount of water out of it. He quickly re-donned the shirt, but the expression of disgust as he wiped the excess water off his hands was so comical that Yugi couldn't quite stifle a giggle. Bakura smiled very slightly, and then turned to lean out from under the roof and tested the air.

"Seems like it's stopped raining, for now at least…You might want to head home before it starts up again…" Bakura snagged his umbrella, which had lain unnoticed on the far side of the table, scooped his pack up and slung it over his shoulder before turning and starting to leave.

"No…I don't want to go back there…" Yugi's words were whispered, and he couldn't suppress a slight shudder. Then he sighed, a tiny trickle of sound, and turned to make himself comfortable. He was careful not to look at Bakura's retreating back, because he knew, even though most people wouldn't consider Bakura to be the best choice of company, he was once more being left behind.

Whether he had heard the words or the sigh, Bakura gave no sign, other than if Yugi had been paying more attention, he would have realized Bakura hadn't left yet. His heart constricted sharply as he watched the young teen ready himself for what was apparently going to be a rather long, cold night. He couldn't just leave him out here…plus he wanted to know why Yugi refused to go home. _'Damn conscience and curiosity…ganging up on me…'_

Yugi looked up abruptly, just realizing the taller white-haired teen was still present. Bakura met his eyes.

"You wanna crash at my place?"

Yugi, after a moment of hesitation, rose and stepped out next to Bakura, who put up the umbrella as it started to rain once more.


	2. The Apartment

Cold and Lonely, Chapter Two…

Bakura nudged the dozing Yugi out of the crook of his arm and tried to get at his housekeys. Unfortunately, Yugi proved an effective blockade. With a sigh, he tried to slide Yugi over to his other side to free up his arm. He froze and swore silently when the spiky-haired youth burrowed back into the side with an incoherent murmur.

Bakura sighed again and rolled his eyes, then tried to reach around with the _OTHER _hand. That worked, but it turned out that his pocket was empty.

Small hands pressed the keys Bakura sought into his right palm before he could panic. His fingers automatically closed around the cold metal as he looked down into mischievous violet eyes.

"How long have you had those for?"

"Round ten minutes…"

"You're pretty good at that. I never noticed you take them."

"Thanks! I used to practice by switching Anzu's deck with Kaiba's."

"Oh! That's why he keeps ranting about them 'all being out to get him'. He was damn good at drawing those Petit Angles, though…This is the place."

The pair stood in front of a light blue door marked with '13' painted elegantly upon its surface. Further down the white-painted hallway, another door was evident on the opposite side of the silver-gray carpet, and Yugi could see no other doors in either direction. He turned back to see Bakura push the door open and flip on a light switch. He was quickly ushered inside.

"I know it's not much…"

Bakura's apartment was a vast, sprawling affair. Immediately inside the front door was the living room. Two walls were a deep purple and showed signs of someone's attempt to paint them white, with little success. The south wall was fantastic. It was the only one that had been turned completely white, but on top of that someone had started to transform it into an amazingly detailed, yet unfinished, mural of a scene from ancient Egypt. The west wall was a solid bank of bay windows.

Paintbrushes, paint and other such novelties lay scattered about various pieces of furniture, most notably a gaudy, neon-green couch. It was upon this couch Bakura dumped his backpack before striding into another room, motioning for Yugi to follow. He complied, and light flooded out as his host flipped another switch, revealing this room as the kitchen.

Yugi caught his breath in wonder. This room had a theme as well…that of a snow-covered mountain. Everything was captured perfectly…the shade and shadows, the play of light through snow-bound branches that almost seemed to sway in a gentle breeze…

"This…this is beautiful!" Yugi spoke in an awed whisper. Bakura heard, and flushed at the compliment, but hid his reaction quickly.

"It's a hobby. I don't have much else to do during the day, except sleep, and I don't need all that much of it. Even though it is a most enjoyable pastime…"The ex-tomb robber dug violently through a drawer near the sink and pulled out oven mitts, a thermometer, and a meat fork. He yanked the oven door open, pulled out one of the trays, and began poking furiously at the contents of a large pot.

"Um….what are you doing?" Yugi sniffed the delicious scent lingering in the air hungrily.

"Checking on this stupid roast…" so-saying, the white-haired teen put the oven back in order and turned to face his, he now noticed, filthy guest. His normally hard gaze softened slightly.

"Wait here…" Bakura hurried through a door to the left of the refrigerator. Loud thumps, thuds and crashes accompanied by vigorous swearing trailed in from beyond the door. Bakura, somewhat red in the face, returned shortly with a fluffy pink towel and some silky-looking clothes.

"Take these…the pajamas are Ryou's…I mistakenly packed them with my stuff to move here after they accidentally shrunk in the wash." Yugi gratefully accepted the satiny gray pajamas. He could see these had probably been Ryou's favorites at some point, due to the image of a chibi-Change of Heart character on the breast pocket.

"Mistakenly?"

"Absolutely. The bathroom is to the right of the front door. Why don't you hop in the shower, and then we can eat and gossip a bit." Yugi, with the beginnings of a genuine smile turned to do as he was bid.

"Bakura, dinner was wonderful! I never knew you could cook so well!" A still slightly damp Yugi set down his fork.

"Thanks. It's an….acquired talent. I've needed to learn since…" Bakura stopped talking abruptly. He turned to look out the widows covering the dining room's west wall at the city's nightlife, though there wasn't that much seven floors up. Yugi, respecting his host's privacy, rose and began to collect dishes and such from the table. His taller companion soon joined him, flashing a brief, grateful smile.

Swiftly and quietly, the two went about the task of cleaning dining room and kitchen, and working together, the task was soon finished. Bakura was, oddly, the first to break the ensuring silence.

"Would you like to talk?"

Yugi sagged. His hands, clutching the handles of a clean pot, began trembling. Bakura took the pot and put it away as Yugi replied in an embarrassed whisper, "If it's okay…it's been so nice…I…I don't want to bring it up…tonight at least…"

Bakura rubbed Yugi's shoulder comfortingly and nodded. "When you're ready…." He motioned his houseguest into the Egyptian living room.

Sitting on the 'evil' green couch was a kitten. Well, sleeping was more accurate.

Bakura walked right up to the couch and dumped both cat and backpack on the floor, then led Yugi to the cushion from which the cat had been forcibly evicted. The cat, realizing there was a new lap to invade, leapt onto the petit teen and proceeded to beg for attention. Yugi giggled and willingly complied. Bakura laughed and plopped down beside them in an easy, sprawling manner.

"Your cat is so cute! What's…her name?"

"P.I.T.A"

"And that stands for…?"

"Pain In The Ass. Somewhat inappropriate, thus, Pita." He drove a hand into the no-man's land under the cushions. After groping around valiantly for a few moments, he triumphantly pulled forth a remote control.

"I knew the couch couldn't have eaten it yet…" Bakura glared at the giggling Yugi and hit a small green button. In the partially painted wall, a panel of one of the pyramids slid up to reveal…a television.

Another button later, the set turned on and Bakura stared flipping through channels until he reached the late-night news. The two companions watched in comfortable silence, Yugi absently stroking Pita's silky-smooth fur.

Yugi was amazed. He realized that he shouldn't be hanging out with Bakura, who was known to be dangerous, and yet…he knew he was safe. He was more at ease with Bakura than he had been with anyone in a long while.

Slowly, lulled by warmth, companionship and Pita's rumbling purr, Yugi drifted into sleep once more.

Bakura looked down when Yugi slumped against his side. It was obvious the little one had succumbed to sleep. The ex-tomb robber clicked the T.V off and made as if to go to his room. But he stopped. And turned back to the couch with its sleeping occupant. His conscience twinged.

Rolling his eyes, he lifted his cat off the boy, then lifted Yugi's limp body into his arms. Yugi murmured something, then nestled deeper into his carrier's embrace, which caused Bakura to look down, an amused look on his face. That expression soon melted away as he realized, for the first time, Yugi did not wear the Millenium Puzzle.

Eyes narrowed in thought, Bakura gently bore his small guest into his bedroom.


	3. Spackling Some Plotholes

Chapter 3Spackling Plotholes

Bakura lounged on Ryou's bed while his other crouched over his desk studiously, a book full of confusing symbols laid out in front of him, all while scribbling furiously on a piece of paper.

_Bakura rolled to his feet and slunk over to the desk to peer over Ryou's shoulder. He didn't notice Ryou's sudden stiffening, nor the tightened grip on the pencil. Bakura was too busy scoffing at all Ryou's hard work._

_"What the hell is this?" Bakura snatched up Ryou's calculus homework before he could even begin to form a protest._

_"Bakura! Please…just give it back! I really need to finish…"_

_The sound of ripping paper filled the air. Ryou heaved a sigh and dropped his head to rest against his desk._

_"Oops…guess you'll just have to start over. Such a pussy…can't even rescue your own damn homework. Absolutely pitiful." He tossed the shredded paper into the garbage can._

_Ryou, face down against his desk, winced slightly as Bakura continued, punctuating comments with painful nudges on Ryou's back._

_"You can't defend yourself, you're malleable, and you're WEAK! Weak, weak, weak! Of all people, I had to get saddled with YOU."_

_"Shut up, you asshole!" Ryou, spinning around, gave Bakura a firm shove, bracing himself against his desk and sending Bakura sprawling. _

_"You'll regret that…" The words were more growled than spoken._

_Ryou sucked in air and verbally lashed out, his words dripping venom as he vented his bottled-up anger and frustration._

_" You bastard! Why can't you just lay off? I have much more important things to do than worry about a god-damned sadistic yami! If it makes you so unhappy to have me as a hikari, then…" Ryou ripped the Sennen Ring from about his neck and flung it at Bakura, "Here! Take it and get out! S'not like you NEED to hang around since the Items spat up you yamis' bodies! Go! Get out of my house! I'm gonna go to dinner, and when I get back, you and all your SHIT better be gone!"_

_"Ry…"_

_"No! Just leave me the fuck alone!" Ryou stormed out of the bedroom, leaving Bakura staring after him with a stunned expression smeared across his face. He heard the front door slam closed a few seconds later._

_Silence fell. Bakura pulled himself into a cross-legged sitting position and gently lifted Ryou's ring from the floor, cradling it delicately between cold hands. His knuckled whitened as his hands clutched convulsively around the Ring's rim. He sat there, gazing out the door for a long while._

_ Finally, he slipped the necklace-cord of the duplicate ring over his head, but continued to watch the door thoughtfully as the two rings merged into one. _

Bakura bolted upright out of a sound sleep, launching Pita from his chest and nearly falling off his neon green couch in the process. He resettled himself, only sitting normally instead of laying down. He put his face in his hands, and tiny kitty paws led a small kitten to sit next to his legs.

'Damn dream…memory…whatever. Why do I have to keep reliving that evening?' Bakura sighed. 'I was so stupid! He was right…I was an asshole. I wish I could just tell him that I'm sorry….' Bakura stood and walked over to the window wall.

He slid open a discreet door and stepped out onto a narrow balcony, the kitten trailing behind. He leaned against the railing, looking down at the ground, seven floors below. The cool night breeze against his bare skin was refreshing. A furry shape rubbed lovingly against his ankles.

"Well, I don't think sleep is an option from here on in…" He looked down at his cat, who stopped her ecstatic stropping and stared solemnly back in the style of cats everywhere. "So, Pita, if not sleep, what shall I do until morning?"

"Meu?"

A throaty laugh escaped him. "I have two walls to paint white…that sound like a good way to kill some time."

He slipped back inside the apartment and walked over to the southwest corner of the living room. He ran searching fingers over the elegantly painted image of the Sphinx, until, with a distinct yet quiet snapping sound, a hidden door swung open. He peered inside.

The dim red glow of the lava lamp on the bedside table cast eerie shadows across the painted walls and turned the green velvet bedspread black. Yugi, highlighted by soft red light and shadows, lay snuggled under the covers, a small, mysterious smile curving his lips.

Bakura nodded in satisfaction, then grabbed a pair of paint splattered jeans from the floor, figuring he'd find some boxers when his rummaging around would not risk waking the little one.

He stealthily pulled the bedroom door shut and donned the jeans before popping open a can of white paint. A few stirs later and it was poured into a plastic tray.

"Meu?"

Bakura laughed softly and scooped his eager pet up, placing her on his shoulder where she promptly entrenched herself in his wild white hair, her claws not breaking the skin of his naked shoulder. Bakura grabbed a paint roller and went to work.


	4. In The Jungle, The Mighty Jungle

Chapter Four: In The Jungle, The Mighty Jungle….

Yugi uncoiled languorously, stretching his limbs to their limit and arching his back, cat-like. He relaxed and lay sprawled between satin sheets, and, distantly realized the fuzzy material against his cheek was probably velvet.

His sleep-heavy violet eyes cracked open to behold an electric alarm clock reading '7:36' in cool blue numbers. Behind the clock on the small bedside table was a red-glowing lava lamp.

Yugi sat up, the satin bedsheets pooling under the heavy green velvet bedspread with his slightest movement. After a moment of disoriented fear, he remembered the night before, and, more importantly, his location. 'Bakura's place….Is this his bedroom?' He started to roll off the large bed and was surprised when the whole thing sunk and wavered in response.

The small teen paused and pressed a hand lightly against the satin. The hand sunk it and a delighted smile spread across his face. He bounced once, and the whole bed wriggled wildly.

"Waterbed! This is so cool!" The boy started to bounce and jump in an excess of gleeful energy, until, with a start, he realized his host could have walked in at any time. He hopped off the bed and struck a dignified pose, his cheeks slightly red-tinted.

His embarrassment was swiftly forgotten as he realized the dark room in which he found himself was not, in fact, a solid color, but rather another one of the large and complex murals that Bakura seemed so inclined to decorate his walls with. The overwhelming impression of a jungle was only enhanced by the inclusion of the furniture and curtains that sported the painted scene without breaking rhythm.

More impressive, however, was the silvery glint of flank and the iridescent eyes of a white tiger mostly concealed by odd plantlife. Beautifully rendered birds, insects, plants and animals, many of which Yugi honestly could not name, blended into a lovingly crafted image.

The only problem, it seemed, was that the door was so well camouflaged. Yugi had no idea how he was to escape the room. That is, until he noticed the parrot.

It had it's wings spread, as if in flight, and the body was almost level. But it was the long red tail-feathers that caught and held his attention. One of them seemed to be more three dimensional than the others.

The spiky-haired boy slipped across the room and reached out for the odd feather. A pleased grin quirked his lips as his hand wrapped around a smooth wooden bar. He pushed it down and pulled.

There was a click, and the door swung silently inward on well-oiled hinges. He stepped out of the bedroom and into the Egyptian livingroom…… and immediately stifled a giggle.

Sprawled halfway on the couch, Pita sleeping over almost his entire face and with white paint dripping down his pants from the roller resting against his chest was Bakura.

Yugi crept across the covered floor and leaned against the back of the couch. Pita, still on Bakura's face, woke up and gave a feline squeak of glee as she started to wildly knead the side of her owner's head. Bakura groaned and slapped at the kitten, whom had already decided to launch herself at Yugi.

Bakura opened his eyes to see Yugi gazing down at him, Pita joyously licking his chin.

"I thought you didn't need to sleep?"

Bakura waved a hand dismissively and stood, grimacing down at the white paint spilling down his body. Yugi was looking at the newly painted walls.

"Wow."

"Thanks. Can you wait a bit for breakfast? I REALLY need to take a shower……"

"Hey, it's okay! I can make breakfast, no prob!"

"Yugi, you don't have to……"

"Shush," Yugi made a silencing gesture, "You bathe. I'll cook, then we can eat when you get out. No arguments."

Bakura hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. Yugi looked inordinately pleased as he looked around.

"The kitchen is over there."

"I knew that."

Bakura snickered as Yugi and Pita marched forth to bravely battle breakfast. The white-haired boy shook his head, then when in search of his clothing.


	5. Breakfast and Conversations

Chapter Five: Breakfast and Conversations

Yugi chased the last bit of scrambled eggs around the plate with his fork. Bakura, moving swiftly, beat him to it and deposited it on the sole biscuit and sausage…….which Yugi promptly stole out of his hand.

"Damn! How'd you do that?" Yugi shrugged, his mouth too full of food to answer. Bakura grumbled for a bit, then drank Yugi's chocolate milk in retaliation. The small teen pouted while his companion chuckled triumphantly.

Yugi, despite being oddly happy for the first time in a LONG time, was also slightly unnerved. Sure, Bakura had been acting really odd last night, but this morning……he was downright cheerful! Which was definitely NOT how big, bad, evil Yami Bakura was supposed to act. Yugi DID have the distinct impression that his host was doing a lot of it to put him at ease, and yet…….none of the niceness seemed strained. Almost……natural. Was that even possible? One way to find out……..

"Hey, Bakura?……..I hope you don't mind my asking, but what the hell has gotten into you? No offense, but you used to be, well, an asshole!"

Bakura raised an eyebrow at Yugi's choice of words, "And whom would expect sweet, innocent little Yugi to swear?" **_Or Ryou for that matter…_**

"Touché. Okay, no answers unless you want to give them."

"Nah, It's okay. Nothing big……" Bakura leaned towards Yugi, careful not to put an elbow in his plate. "It's not possible to have all this stuff," he motioned vastly at his apartment, "without money. And for money, you need a job."

"Now……" at this he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "do you realize how hard it is to keep a job when you send EVERY annoying customer to the Shadow Realm?"

"You didn't!"

"I did. Thirty-seven people had an impromptu vacation courtesy of me before my current boss, who thinks I just yelled at them, enrolled me in anger management and public relations classes." Yugi couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Bakura taking an anger management course. He thought it must have been pretty wild.

"So……what about the people?"

Bakura waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, them. I eventually found them and erased their memories……though I think one is claiming to have been abducted by aliens." That got a laugh out of both of them.

"So all it took was a few classes for you to get like this?"

"You make it sound like a disease. But, yeah, that and a healthy desire to keep a job……plus Marik….."

Yugi cut his host off, "Marik? The insane psychopath helped you REFORM?"

"Odd, huh? But Marik……he's changed too. A lot nicer, and pretty funny sometimes. I honestly think…..well, if he stops by today you'll see what I mean." Yugi watched Bakura expectantly.

"What?"

"So what did Marik do?"

"Oh! He…...uh, gave me a stern talking-to."

"Really? What'd he say?"

"Oh, that I was a damn shit-sucking baka and needed to be shot……then he beat the living shit outta me, " he grinned, "I've still got bruises." His face kind of went still for a moment, " But sometimes…….sometimes I kind of…..regress." He shot Yugi a sly look, " and sometimes I just get sick of being nice and need to burn something!" A grin spread across Yugi's face and his eyes lit up with mirth as he let out a laugh.

A comfortable silence fell for a while after that and the apartment was straitened up. Soon, though, the quiet started to become oppressive.

"Hey Yugi………how do you feel about a walk?" The person in question looked up, startled, and Bakura caught a flash of an emotion somewhere between worry and resignation in those expressive violet eyes. Bakura wondered about that look….the same way he wondered about the missing Millenium Puzzle.

" I need to get my truck from the shop. I was having transmission problems…….whatever THAT means……"

"They gave YOU a license?" Yugi's incredulous tone made his companion chuckle.

"Yeah……I was pretty surprised I passed all the required tests. It only took five tries too. So…..You wanna come along?" When Yugi still looked undecided, Bakura continued, " We could hit the mall too. Then maybe pick up some lunch."

Yugi smiled and started to nod, but then looked at himself and frowned cutely. He was still wearing the pajamas supplied to him last night. "I'd need my clothes….."

"Sorry, but you completely ruined those……I was barely able to salvage the buckles." The small one sighed, but Bakura, suddenly inspired, continued, " You could, of course, wear some of the clothes I shrunk before I learned you don't put leather and silk in the washer and dryer, ESPECIALLY together."

"Yikes. I know……I remember when Ya……" Yugi's voice caught, but he kept a smile plastered on his face. Bakura noticed that the smile didn't quite reach those big violet eyes as Yugi continued, "Anyway, that'd be great! Could I please? I don't like the idea of walking back to the Gameshop in Ryou's ruined PJ's…..he might recognize them!"

Bakura's lip quirked at the last little joke, but was determined to find out why the little light was so sad. It had, he was sure, something to do with the pharaoh. He just knew.

"I'll be back……I'm glad I didn't get rid of all this stuff….." he strode into his bedroom, Yugi staring thoughtfully after him. Wide violet eyes narrowed in sudden wicked thought as he rushed into the kitchen.

Bakura came back into the living room carrying white leather pants, and a red leather tank-top. Also in his hands was a long, home-watered gray/white silk over-shirt. He figured these would fit Yugi…..more or less.

He stopped dead at the sight of Yugi standing in the middle of the living room holding a small bottle and his tennis shoes. At his feet was a very, very deep pot filled with the ruined clothing from the evening before. The spike-haired boy gave him a mischievous look.

"Don't worry, I'll wash it."

"Huh?"

"Open a window….I think it'll be necessary. I'm gonna have to ask you about this stuff later..…." Yugi was now pouring the liquid out of the bottle as Bakura, at a loss for anything else to do, complied and opened the nearest window.

"Yugi…….what the BLOODY HELL are you doing?"

The smaller teen shot Bakura a LOOK, then flashed the label of the now nearly empty bottle. Nail polish remover?

Yugi tossed the white-haired yami a book of matches.

"You're being too nice. It's starting to make me feel a tad freaked out."

Bakura idly lit a match and flipped it towards the pot. In the light from the sudden flames that followed, Bakura glanced over at Yugi, a fierce and toothy grin on his face.

"You and I, little-one, are going to get along just fine."

Yugi matched his expression.


	6. Dude, Where's My Car?

Chapter Six-ness: Dude, Where's My Car?

" NOW! I will NOT go over this again…….STAY IN THE HOUSE TODAY!"

"Why?"

"ARG!"

"Why?" Marik was careful to maintain his innocent and vacantly puzzled expression, even though he was valiantly fighting the urge to break into hysterical laughter. His hikari stood with his face in his hands, bemoaning the fact that his yami was a stupid, annoying git.

The 'why' problem had started about a half hour before, when Malik had made the mistake of answering the first 'why'. He had been TRYING to leave, and had told Marik to not leave the house, when the vicious attack had been launched.

Malik looked up and locked an angry glare on Marik, who simply blinked dumbly. Malik, obviously fed up with the entire situation, merely shook a finger at the 'evil' yami, and said, "STAY."

With that, he turned on his heel and left, slamming the front door behind him. After a moment, Marik fled to the window and waited, until, finally, he was rewarded with the sight of his hikari riding away on a motorcycle.

Marik grinned and dashed haphazardly to his bedroom, nearly knocking several priceless artifacts off various tables. Upon reaching his destination, he immediately fell to his knees and reached under his bed, where he groped around until his hand met fabric. Catching hold of his prize, he withdrew an olive-drab duffel bag.

Suddenly he froze. Footsteps were coming down the hall towards his room. He shoved the bag back under the bed and spun around in time to see…….Isis, smiling warmly at him.

"If you hurry up and get ready, I can drop you off at the Community Center on my way to the museum."

"Cool!"

"Will Bakura be able to bring you home today?"

"Prob'ly. He's getting his truck back……..likely right as we speak." Marik reached back under the bed for the duffel, and, having drug it back out, brushed off an imaginary speck of dust. Grabbing a notebook off the desk, he flung one of the canvas straps over his shoulder and turned back to Malik's sister.

"I'm good to go."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE PARTS DIDN'T COME IN?" Bakura screamed at the cowering mechanic, while Yugi fought off a case of hysterical giggles, "IT'S BEEN ALMOST TWO WHOLE WEEKS! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY NOW! YOU SAID IT WOULD BE DONE BY NOW!"

Yugi reached out and lightly touched Bakura's elbow. The white-haired teen took a deep breath and continued a slight bit more calmly.

"I REALLY depend on my truck. I NEED it. You SAID it would be done today on a contract, no less! and it is NOT done. Now, this presents us with a dilemma. It's YOUR fault my truck isn't in MY possession, and I expect you to do something about my lack of transportation. NOW!"

The mechanic took a moment to realize he had been somewhat dismissed. Then he was off like a shot, nearly running, having mumbled something about the boss.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Yugi lost control of his laughter. "Did you see his face? It looked like he just about pissed himself!"

Bakura gave an angry, thin-lipped smile, which gradually evolved into a wicked grin as he witnessed Yugi's continued mirth, "That was pretty good, wasn't it?"

"Absolutely fantast……...oh, look……….he's coming back for more!" Sure enough, the mechanic had returned, his pale and sweating face twitching slightly. Plus, he wasn't taking his wary eyes off Bakura. Yugi gave a helpless choke/chuckle before falling silent as Bakura began to talk.

"Well? Did you talk to your boss?"

"He………..uh……….he heard." The man was whispering, so terrified was he, "He said to offer you a rental car, free of charge, until your truck is finished……."

Bakura's russet eyes narrowed, "Just what KIND of car are you suggesting?"

"The one your c………c……..companion is l……..leaning against………."

At Yugi's low whistle Bakura turned around. The car Yugi had been leaning against, was, in fact, a blood-red Jaguar with a black leather interior. Bakura barely managed to hide his grin as he turned back to the mechanic and feigned disinterest.

"Hn………it run well?"

"Absolutely fantastic! The best car in the shop! Doesn't guzzle gas either………souped up………amazing stereo system……." When the man showed signs of rambling on like this indefinitely, Bakura decided to speak.

"Shut up. How long?"

"A……m………m……….month!"

" A MONTH! You expect me to go without my truck for a month? But……….Well, fuck, I guess this COULD suffice………."

"J……….just s……sign this and I'll give you the k………keys."

Ten minutes later, Bakura was on the road and playing with his new car. Yugi, beside him, remarked, "I think that man will have a permanent stutter. Anyway……….didn't he say something about a stereo? Got any CD's?"

"Second biggest pocket of the backpack." Yugi unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned back to rummage through said backpack. A few seconds later he popped back, holding a CD case, and re-buckled his seatbelt. Once done, he started digging through the discs in the case.

"No…..no……no……no WAY! I can't believe you have THAT!……no……..no…….Paydirt! KORN!" He snagged the CD and tossed it in the player. Within seconds the first few bars of 'Here To Stay' filtered quietly through the speakers.

"Come ON! Crank it up!"

"Hold on……….better song first!" Yugi spun the dial to track eleven and turned the volume up as far as it could possibly go. The music ROARED. Nearby motorists looked startled, then offended as they actually understood some of the lyrics………..to which both Yugi and Bakura were screaming/singing along to.

_"Ass up high!_

_Make a motherfucker cry!_

_It's so good that I could die!_

_Help me stay alive!"_

Yugi let out a gleeful howl as Bakura laid on the horn and started plowing through traffic.

"You are SO gonna get us arrested!"


	7. Hatching Of The Evil Plan, And Moving Al...

Chapter Seven or so: Hatching the Evil Plot o' Doom

"Hey, Bakura...do you have a cell phone? 'Cause there's one ringing in your pocket and it's doing the funeral march..."

"Fuck...yeah, it's mine...CRAP! My burger! Hello?"  
Bakura picked up his cheeseburger, dropped on it's journey to his mouth, as he tried to grip his phone with greasy fingers. Yugi looked on in amusement as he sipped cheerfully at a chocolate milkshake.  
"Oh, hey Marik! Uh, sure, I could give you a lift. Six sound good? Okay, see you then..." Bakura shoved the burger in his mouth as he turned the phone off and dumped it back into his pocket. Yugi looked at him, one eyebrow raised questioningly.  
Once his mouth was empty, his companion explained, "Marik usually walks home from his singing classes, yes, singing, I'll have him tell you about it later, so don't ask, but he told Isis I'd give him a ride home, and he was calling to see if I could. And would."  
"Okay, sounds good...So, where we heading next?"  
"Uh..Black Magi, Rosethorn, Curl Up And Dye, then the petstore."  
"Cool...hey, could we hit International?"  
"What? The music place? You play?"  
"Yeah, sometimes.."  
"What do you play?"  
"A bit of everything."  
"You're kidding! That's amazing...you need to teach me to play something... uh, okay, so International is between Black Magi and...Yugi? Are you okay?"  
With no response forthcoming, Bakura followed Yugi's gaze over his shoulder, and didn't even try to stifle his growl. 'Lovely...it's the idiot.'  
Said idiot, namely one ex-Pharoh whom went by the name Yami, sat at a table less than ten feet away. To make it even worse, his little hoard surrounded him. Bakura gave a dismissive snort and turned back...to meet little Yugi's sad eyes.  
The gears in Bakura's head clicked.  
Bakura leaned forward and spoke, his voice soft, "It's them, isn't it? They're the reason you were out last night."  
Yugi lowered his eyes and slumped down on his chair. "Yeah..I should be so selfish though, because I really can't blame them. Yami is cooler, and a better duelist, and a better, well, everything!" At this point the smaller boy seemed to be melting into the fake wood of the table and his slightly muffled voice became forlorn, "I'm just little, kiddie Yugi who gets in everyone's way."  
Bakura gaped for a moment at that logic, then reached out and caught Yugi's chin, lifting his face until their eyes met. In his grimmest voice, Bakura started speaking. "That is the biggest pile of CRAP I have ever heard. If the bastards are ignoring you... well, actually, there isn't much I can say. I've always held to the fact that they're a bunch of morons, and this is just further proof. But the High Grand Shitface himself is ignoring you too?"  
"Yes. I doubt he even realizes I've been gone."  
"Hmmm...I'd offer to rip out his intestines and feed them to him, but I somehow doubt you'd take me up on that offer."  
"Ummm, yeah."  
"In that case the best I can do is give them heart attacks...Do you want to move in with me for a while? Until they quit being stupid?"  
Yugi, though confused by the whole Bakura train of thought, still caught that last comment and smiled brilliantly. "I'd love to!"  
"Would your Grandpa mind? Because of the gameshop..." Bakura asked, suddenly realizing the extra factors, but Yugi was still smiling.  
"Don't worry, Grandpa's in the Amazon Jungle, and he said to keep the actual shop closed until he gets back, in...well, about a year." Seeing Bakura's startled look, and correctly guessing the cause, continued, "Don't worry, we actually have several hundred thousand dollars set aside for these situations."  
Bakura nodded and then turned to face the direction of his potential future victims. 'Okay, physical harm is out of the question, but messing with their minds is fine with me...oooohhhhhh!...' A wicked smile slowly formed on his face as he turned to Yugi, who was by now watching him warily.  
"Yugi. I know we've been only hanging out since last night, but I'd like to know..." At this Bakura framed Yugi's face with his hands,"Are you comfortable enough with people, especially me, to play a VERY involved practical joke? And do you trust me to pull it off?"  
Yugi met Bakura's eyes steadily and answered without pause, "Yes."  
The evil grin crept back onto the white-haired Egyptian's pale face, "Well, then I've got the mother of all nasty ideas, and I think it's enough to permanently paralyze Ye Olde Idiot...This is gonna be fun."  
Yugi, upon hearing this plan, could not begin to disagree.


	8. OverUsed Plot Quirkiness!

Chapter Eight: Enter the Over-Used Plot Quirk!

"Kaiba, I honestly have no clue where your dragons could have disappeared to! Now, what did you say they'd been replaced with?"

"FAIRY Dragons."

"Fai…….What kind of freak does a thing like that!"

"A sadistic one, most likely."

"S'not even hard to woop on ya anymore Kaiba."

"What a lucky break for YOU, dog-boy."

"Why, I'm gonna……."

"Hey, look! Speaking of sadistic freaks………."

Everyone's gazes followed Honda's pointing finger. Several sets of eyes narrowed at the unwelcome sight of the white-haired teen swiftly approaching their table wearing a slightly vicious smirk.

"Wonder what HE wants……."

" Okay Yugi. This whole plot depends on how exuberantly, SICKENINGLY affectionate we can be. But especially how affectionate YOU can be, seeing as how any loving action from me will have then deeply disturbed within a few seconds."

"No worries. On demand, I can be very…….hmmm……. well, for lack of a better term, 'vigorously clingy'. Don't worry about my part in it, you just be ready, and brace yourself."

"I'll irritate them for a bit, then you do your thing."

"Good as done."

What do YOU want, Bakura?" Somehow, Yami managed to make the ex-thief's name sound like the vilest insult. Bakura figured it was an skill nobles had to learn at a young age. 'Hmmm………Snob-hood 101.' The pale Egyptian had to fight to keep a straight face (well, at least his expression of mild mocking) at this, for the urge to giggle was nearly overwhelming. He fought it down and won, though.

"What! Are you saying that I'm not allowed to go to the mall? I haven't pissed anyone important off recently."

"I'm for bettin' he jus' followed us ta harass us!" Saying this, Jou leapt to his feet and shoved an accusing finger in the accusee's face. The digit was quickly removed when Bakura growled and made as if to bite the finger off.

"Honestly, I don't have that much time to waste on you lot." He met each pair of eyes in turn; Jou, Honda, Anzu, Mai, Yami, Kaiba……and Ryou.

"But, just so the suspense doesn't tear you apart, I was waiting to meet someone."

"Why the hell did you come over here then!"

"For a moment I thought that he was over here, sitting with you, but then I realized he has better taste than that. Unfortunately, this conversation had already started."

"Why would we even want someone you hang around with even near…………….."

"BAKURA!" At the sound of his name, Bakura's face spread into a fiendish grin as he turned around, halfway for the sake of the rapidly nearing duelist, but mostly because of the strangled sounds of shock coming from the table behind him.

The only problem was, not even he knew what his young friend was going to do in reply to a request for a caring greeting.

Yugi had only a split second to take in the disbelieving and downright horrified expressions on the faces of his ex-friends before he launched himself into Bakura's arms and snogged the hell out of him.

Several minutes (spent doing an impressive job of trying to suck each other's faces off, for Bakura had quickly gotten the idea) later, Yugi slid to the ground and wrapped an arm around his somewhat bemused companion's waist, before waving happily at the gaping group.

"Hi guys! I gotta go get my Kura here into a pair of leather pants. I'm probably going to have to 'help' him, so we'd better go! Bye!" With a lecherous wink, Yugi dragged the unresisting Bakura away and out of sight.

"What was…….."

"Wait!" Yugi clapped a hand over his friend's mouth.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL!" Yami's shout was heard clearly, as was the confused babble that followed his outburst. Bakura tried to continue on, now stifling his laughter, But Yugi grabbed him and yanked him down beside a garbage can.

Apparently just in time, because the crew they'd just freaked out stormed past, lead by a livid Yami who seemed to be muttering things involving heinous murder. They seemed to be hunting. Three guesses who.

Once they where safely out of ear-shot, Yugi surrendered to a spate of hysterical giggles, leaving Bakura to wait patiently until the younger teen regained control of himself.

"Well, what was that about?"

"Hey! I was going for a reaction!"

"That," Bakura said solemnly, pointing in the direction Yami and co. had gone, "was one HELL of a reaction. I must commend you."

"Thanks! I figured that would do the trick like no other thing would."

"Heyyyyy……." A slight smile crossed Bakura's face, "How do you feel about pestering security after we get done shopping?"

"Sounds like fun! I've always hated the Rent-A-Cops here………they deserve a little bit of harassment!" Bakura offered the rising Yugi a hand. Taking the offered assistance, the two were sauntering along the crowed storefronts within moments.

As they walked, Bakura dropped an arm around his spiky-haired roommate's shoulders. Looking up at the pale Egyptian, Yugi blinked in curiosity.

Leaning close to Yugi's ear, Bakura smirked and whispered, "You know………you're a damn good kisser."

Yugi flushed a brilliant shade of red.

And Bakura's cell-phone rang.


	9. Kaiba Is Generous

Chapter Nine: The Terror of Having Your Bank and Credit Cards Stolen.

"Yeah?"

Yugi swiftly tried to rein in his blushing fit. While he listened to Bakura conversing quietly on the phone, he began to wonder what kind of drugs he'd been on. 'Honestly,' he told himself, 'In less than twenty-four hours, I've alienated most of my old friends, made at least one new one, and moved out. And on top of that, I've shown more honest emotion today alone than I have in the last four weeks!'

"Yugi?' Bakura's voice broke through his musing. Yugi looked up, smiling. "Marik says that his voice teacher has to take her girlfriend to an important event, so he'll be leaving class earlier than usual. I told him to meet us by the Bastet fountain around 2:30."

"Cool. So, shall we commence with the shopping?" As he said this, on a sudden thought, he pulled out his wallet. After pausing a moment in consideration, an excessively pleased expression crossed his face. His white-haired companion shifted around and looked on warily as Yugi pulled a card out of his wallet.

"What is THAT?"

"Seto Kaiba's debit card." Yugi's tone was that of someone telling a gullible person that jumping off a third floor balcony onto concrete doesn't hurt, and being believed.

"And….do you know the code?" Bakura was definitely interested. "Really, it's not all that far, you'll be fine..."

"Seven-Three-Eight-Six." "Come on, all you have to do is be sure to land on your feet!"

"Excellent…….." Splat! Bakura carefully claimed the card from his devious little friend. "I believe……..this calls for a shopping spree."

"I concur. Shall we go?"

"Quite. Where to first?"

"Curl Up and Dye. I want, no, I NEED a brush and a scrunchie." This said, Yugi grabbed the ancient thief's arm and dragged him towards the salon.

"You're positive this'll look alright?" This question was aimed towards a buxom green-haired woman who had her hands, up to her wrists, in Bakura's white hair. Well, previously white hair. Right now, it was a rather impressive foamy purple and green. Yugi sat nearby, head cocked to one side and his newly braided hair hanging below his shoulder blades.

"Sweetheart, " at this Bakura flinched, "You're gonna look absolutely FAN-TAST-IC!"

"But it's purple and green. PURPLE and GREEN!"

"Don't 'cha worry……..it'll be great, you'll see!" Yugi, from his seat on the counter, decided that this woman was WAY too enthusiastic. Looking for a distraction from Bakura's feigned (Well, Yugi hoped it was feigned) thrashings of terror as the woman dunked his head in the sink, the braided teen wandered over to a rack of hair products and claimed two bottles of black dye and one of blue.

Drifting up to the counter, Yugi plunked down his acquisitions. "Can I pay for these, and his, " he pointed at Bakura, " hair now?" The cashier looked over the counter and raised an eyebrow, seemingly oblivious to the startled swearing of the teen being tortured by an emerald-haired vixen behind him.

"No problem……..The grand total comes to forty-seven fifty." Yugi produced the bank card, swiped it quickly in the proffered machine, then punched in the code. As he had guessed, Kaiba hadn't even noticed the loss of the card, and it was of yet still unblocked.

At this point, Bakura staggered to the front of the salon, looking slightly dazed and not just slightly drownt. Behind him, the lady with the jade mane chased him with a battery powered blow-dryer.

The pale (and now seeming paler) Egyptian shook the muzziness from his mind and reached up to touch his new black, blue-tipped hair, before smiling down at his cheekily grinning companion.

"It look good?"

"Looks great. No one will recognize you……..wasn't that worth it?"

"No, and I could say the same about recognition about you, midget."

"Oh god………don't call me that. ANYTHING, but not that……….anyway, shall we continue on?" Yugi grabbed the bottles off the counter and dropped them into Bakura's backpack.

"Sounds good………Kitten." Yugi grimaced.

" I want THAT!" The 'that' in this case happened to be a barbell tongue ring adorned with a behorned devil smiley.

"Well Kitten, (Yugi visibly winced) do you have a tongue piercing?"

"Well, no…"

"You realize that you still need parent or guardian permission?"

"Yeah, but it's easy enough to get around that. Like when I got my tattoo, I paid a bum to come pose as my uncle."

"…You have a tattoo?" Instead of answering, Yugi pulled up the back of his shirt to reveal, tightly curled around a green gem, a white dragon in the small of his back. Tiny red eyes glared out from the safety of the teen's skin. Bakura, kneeling, reached out and ran a finger along the tiny, exquisitely detailed scaled spine, seeming to have forgotten that they stood in the middle of a body-piercing parlor. Yugi hadn't, and quickly pulled away, dismissing the burning trail along his dragon that his friend's touch had inspired as he turned slightly to face Bakura.

"What's…what's wrong?" There was an expression closely resembling awe on that face, and a hint of?...yes, that was definitely amusement. Bakura, not turning his gaze away from the tattoo, reached into his backpack and pulled out an extendible plastic file. From within that he pulled a single sheet of starkly white paper, handing it to the small duelist as both hands moved him back into a position from which the Egyptian could examine Yugi's back.

"Some guy named Charley that I met in a bar gave me twenty-five dollars for a photocopy of that design…." There, in Yugi's hands, was a vibrantly dramatic ink drawing of his dragon. "I'm glad to see that he was a skilled as he boasted he was, if a slight bit…inattentive. I never realized that it would look so luminous, so…." The other teen leaned close, his nose barely millimeters from the skin, his warm breath sending shivers down his hapless victim's back. His voice lowered to a whisper, "So very alive…Like your very own guardian."

Abruptly he straightened, releasing Yugi and sitting back on his heels. "The transfer went really well…do you mind if I take another look at it later?" Yugi, shivering at the thought, nodded and handed the drawing back. Bakura's sheer intenseness was unsettling, almost frightening. If Yugi hadn't been so secure around the other, he most likely would have run screaming long since.

Unnoticed, an impatient customer stood tapping his foot, "If you two are done with your little love-fest, do you mind MOVING? Some people are trying to shop…." Muttering foul obscenities, seemingly in several different languages, Bakura shot to his feet, bowed mockingly to the irate customer and slunk off with roommate and backpack in tow. Yugi caught snippets of English and French, and possibly a recipe in German, but otherwise, the majority of what was being said was unintelligible and foul, or at least sounded that way.

Plopping themselves down on a bench near the front of the store, Bakura wasted no time in retrieving yet another drawing. Seemingly of the same dragon, only larger and wrapped around an ornate sword, he gestured towards his left arm.

"I want to get that extending from wrist to shoulder." Yugi let out a low, appreciative whistle as he studied the drawing, before giving an approving nod and passing it back to his companion.

"Nice. You know who you're going to get it done by?"

"Probably Charley, if you can take me to his place."

"No problem whatsoever. I've been meaning to get another one done. Hey, do we really need anything here?"

"I almost forgot! I need to get some sterilizing solution so I can re-pierce my ear. Stupid thing got infected last time…."

"…………………….what?"

"I've got two earrings, a nosering and two eyebrow rings on each side." He leaned down and pointed out the nearly invisible holes to Yugi. "Give me a sec, I'll be back."

"Okay." Yugi watched as Bakura snagged the attention of an attendant, talked to him for a few seconds before being pointed towards the back of the store. The braided teen hesitated for a moment, then strode over to the front counter.

"What can I do for ya, Chibi?" Yugi winced at the use of yet another lame nickname. He had to admit that Bakura dubbing him 'Kitten' wasn't quite as irritating as he'd lead himself to believe. Better than being called 'Chibi', at least.

"I'd like to buy this……" Yugi pointed to a blue-white iridescent fang earring, "…….and this." The other object was a small blued steel ring set with a greenish gem-like bead.

"That'll be $32.95." Yugi pulled out his wallet and fished out a twenty, a ten and a five. He accepted the bag containing the jewelry and slipped it into a pocket just as Bakura returned with his prize. After paying with Kaiba's card, the two left the store.


	10. Interlude

"So, you say that these are those whom we seek?"

"Yes"

"You will approch the Pharoh, then?"

"Sir...I believe you misunderstand. I believe the shorter one, his...counterpart, is the one we need."

"But the Puzzle...?"

"I don't think he'll need it. In either case, he is forming strong alliances. If we do not act now, I do not think that we will have another chance."

"If...if you are sure, proceed."

"Yes, M'lord."

A flash of light and a sharp crack signalled the departure of one of the speakers.


	11. Notes and Revelations I'm Sorry

Hey ya'll.

Sorry, guys, but this…has been a long time in coming. I'm discontinuing this story. I've been out of Yu-Gi-Oh for…almost ten years now, and stopped writing fic about eight years ago. I'm sorry I got hopes up back in 2004 by posting a chapter thing, but my attempt to at least toss a little more of the planned story out there for you all met head-to-head with my general apathy towards the story.

In short, I've given up writing terrible fanfiction, and have been writing terrible original fiction for almost the last eight years.

I am sorry to all the folks who have been waiting so long for this to continue – I salute your perseverance. But the failing is with me; I just have no interest in continuing or reworking this fic at this junction.

That said, I am willing to put it up for adoption. Heck, I'll adopt it out to several people if they want – if you feel inclined, treat it as a prologue and take off from this point on your own Yu-Gi-Oh adventures. I'd be willing to maintain a list of spin offs if people are interested – just let me know and I'll figure out a system.

I'll keep up what I have, since I know some people do enjoy this fic, partial that it is, and I'll even toss in a little treat – what notes I scavenged on the path of the story:

~ Chaos as Malik joins up with Bakura and Yugi to be pranksters in the mall. He also went though anger management, and is also on meds to help deal with some of those world-domination urges. He's turned out pretty chill, interesting in the Chinese zither, and with occasional outbursts of homicidal megalomania. Accordingly, he managed to get a job in upper management for a small business.

~ Yugi was going to start spontaneously manifesting the ability to use the Shadow Realm (gets pretty badly mugged, accidentally banishes the attackers to the Shadow Realm); which would require an escape from the city in order to engage in an awesome training montage. There would have been, of course, no warnings for anyone outside the trio there that they were going to disappear for a few weeks.

~ They would have gotten stuck in the Shadow Realm at some point, and the shadowy figures would have made a kidnapping attempt on Yugi; the rescue has the notes "Hilarious antics when Malik goes off his medications".

~ Yugi's being overlooked by everyone was not intentional. The shadowy figures were actually attempting to have Yami step into his place in everyone else's memories – the ignoring him thing is the "we don't really know him well except as like…Yami's brother" stage of things; but after the training trip disappearance, they start to remember the way things should be because Malik and Bakura broke stuff when rescuing Yugi.

~ Same with Bakura and Malik's falling outs with their respective partners, though they did have a lot of megalomania and general villain-ness in there making things easy. So the rest of the group begins looking for the main trio, who are stuck in some sort of backwards nightmare world of all the creepy-pasta I could find on the internet. Yugi learns to blow things up with magic and walk away from explosions while looking awesome.

~ Eventually, it would be revealed that the shadowy figures are after Yugi because he is more or less a key capable of screwing with all the Millennium items – which turn out to be condensed spirit energy and magic. Very dense. The plan is to force Yugi to revert the items to pure power and fuel a device built to rip a hole in the multiverse, letting the shadowy figures escape to an alternate world where someone important to the big bad didn't die. Yugi would have gotten dragged along though the hole and almost killed, so it would have been epic alternate worlds rescue attempt; this time with the people in the alternate world trying to deal with the fallout of having a bloody huge hole ripped in reality.

And that's all I've got.

Thank you all for staying with me so long; I'm just sorry that this is the rewards for your faithfulness.

~Chek


End file.
